My Father's Padawan
by Marie Nomad
Summary: While looking for any signs of surviving Jedi, Luke Skywalker discover a clue leading to the discovery of a former Padawan named Ahsoka Tano. What will he learn from this clue that will lead him to understanding his father? Thanks ARC13 for the beta!
1. A Padawan's Journal

All Star Wars characters are owned by George Lucas and his company. I don't own any of this.

My Father's Padawan

Part One

By Marie Nomad

Ever since he had decided to restore the Jedi Order, Luke Skywalker had been dedicated towards gathering as much information as he could about past Jedi. That was hard since what information there was had been propaganda, by the Emperor. He did get the basics of studies, power uses, and philosophies but he hungered for more. What happened to the other Jedi who had survived Order 66? Did they have families? What was the average Jedi like before the Empire? So, he went to the Black Market and searched out the various rumors and junk for that pearl of truth.

"So, this is a real recording of a Jedi's past?" Luke asked an old man. He had dark brown skin and white hair. He looked like the typical human peddler with an akul necklace around his neck. The device looked old, from the Clone Wars era.

"Yeah, a youngling Padawan. Bought it along the trade routes."

Luke peered into the peddler's mind. The peddler believed that this recording was genuine but he could have been tricked by a con artist. Yet, this recording just sang with the force, like Ben's scarce belongings and the temple's ruins. "How much?"

"It's free if you can show me that you are a real Jedi. You are a Jedi aren't you?"

"Yes, I am." Luke telekinetically lifted the device and it landed in his hand. "May I have it?"

"Of course, Sir." The peddler said. "If you need anything else, let me know. May the Force be with you."

"May the Force be with you." Luke bowed his head and walked away.

"Looks like his father, right down to the hand." The old man said when Luke was out of sight.

XXX

Luke took the time to examine the data box carefully. It didn't have any viruses and the data looked sound. "R2? Can you do a final check on the data on this box? Make sure it's real and not some holomovie?" Luke asked his astromech droid.

The droid toodled in agreement and took the box. It whirled and then started beeping in excitement.

"It's something good."

It beeped in confirmation and then showed the first few seconds of the holovid. Luke's eyes widened. He had to show this to Han and Leia.

XXX

"Are you sure it's real?" Leia asked skeptically. She was familiar with all the fake Jedi items that had floated around the galaxy since the Jedi Purge. She knew of several senators who were showing off the cracked lightsaber of Mace Windu in their offices.

"I'm sure. R2 has been going nuts with excitement ever since I showed him that vid." Luke pointed to R2-D2 who kept on beeping and rolling around.

"Yes, yes, we are here and you can show that holovid." C-P30 sighed as he shook his head. "I had never seen him so excited before."

"This better be good." Han said as he took his drink. Chewbaca howled in agreement.

"I think so." Luke nodded towards the astromech. "Start at the beginning."

R2-D2 beeped and started the footage.

_A small Togrunta teenager appeared and she smiled. "Hi! My name is Ahsoka Tano, my Jedi rank is Padawan. I am here to talk to you about my master, Anakin Skywalker."_

"You're kidding." Han said. "Darth Vader had an apprentice?"

"A Jedi apprentice." Luke shushed his friend.

"_I thought that I would go ahead and do a holovid about Master Skywalker and our relationship. It's my way of recording a piece of history for the archives." Ahsoka explained as she sat down. "This is the year 3125, the Clone Wars have been going on for three years. I had been serving for two years. I am so honored to become Master Skywalker's Padawan. He's… he's amazing. He's the most powerful Jedi, a great pilot, an incredible fighter, and well… he's cute." She giggled a little bit like all girls who would talk about their crushes. _

"_You never said that, Snips." A young man appeared at that moment and put an arm around Ahsoka's shoulders. "But I agree with the incredible and amazing parts. Please, remember to always be mindful of your surroundings, even in the Temple."_

"_Yes, Master." Ahsoka bowed her head. "This is Anakin Skywalker or as I would like to call him, Skyguy." She said as she pulled Anakin closer to the camera._

Han's eyes widened. "That's Darth Vader?!"

"He… looks like Luke." Leia glanced at her brother. She was a little worried that the comparison might offend Luke but Luke loved his father.

"Yeah, that's him. Let's just watch this."

"_What are you doing?"_

"_Just recording a little something for the archives. You know, what's being a Jedi like during war." _

"_And you chose me?" Anakin looked shocked and then honored. "Thank you."_

"_No problem. So, tell our friends about how you joined the Jedi." Ahsoka gestured towards the camera._

_Anakin looked down and sighed. "Well, it all began when I was nine years old. I was… a slave on Tatooine. I was a kid who loves to Pod Race. I was the only human who could pod race because of my power. I had built my very own pod racer from the junk yards from a few spare parts that I borrowed but I never won a race. One day, I met Qui-Gon Jinn and he had bet everything on me." Anakin smiled. "He was the first person besides Mother who really believed in me." Anakin got out his lightsaber and then lifted Ahsoka's weapon off of her belt. _

"_HEY!" Ahsoka exclaimed._

"_Don't worry, I'm only borrowing it." Anakin said as he put the lightsabers next to each other. "Let me show you." He focused and droid parts flew in from the other room._

_The lightsabers started to fly and then stopped. "Anyway, at the very start of the race, my pod racer stalled." The lightsabers shivered in mid air. "I had to work really hard to get it started." The lightsabers flew again and then other droid parts start to fly up and bump into each other. "Pod racers all around me were crashing." Ahsoka watched, fascinated as some of the droid parts smashed into the table with a loud, clanking noise._

_Anakin pointed at the lightsabers and it flew around in a circle while little bolts flew pass them. "The Tusken Raiders were using us for target practice. It was exciting." Anakin grinned even more as he got into the story. _

"_The other pod racers kept on cheating to make me lose. My engines nearly flew apart." The lightsabers started to fly apart but flew back together. "More pod racers crashed and even died." Anakin showed the droid parts fell down. " There were two of us left." Anakin flew the lightsaber pair and one last droid next to each other. _

"_The other pod racer kept on bumping me so what I flew way over him." Anakin guided the lightsabers high over the droid part. "Just when I thought I had the upper hand, one of my engines broke." One of the lightsaber pair faltered and fell. "I did not panic. Using my superior fixing skills, I fixed the engine just in time." The falling lightsaber flew back up along with the steady one. "I got up to the other pilot and we butted out pod racers together." The lightsabers and the droid part kept on bumping together. _

"_Finally, I crashed him into the rock!" Anakin finished as the last droid part fall down onto the table. "Don't worry, he survived. And I won the Mos Espa." He finished. _

_Ahsoka grabbed her lightsaber and looked at the camera. "And that is why Anakin has to replace his lightsabers all the time." She said as she waved Anakin's lightsaber at the camera._

"_I don't lose my lightsabers all the time."_

_  
"Oh really." Ahsoka tilted her head and put her hands on her hips._

"_Yes. Now, about my grand beginning… it wasn't easy after my win. The Council doubted I could be trained because I was at the ripe old age of nine. Most Jedi like you were trained at a very young age, even babies. I had to catch up. I had to prove myself time and time again that I can be a great Jedi." _

"_But you are great Jedi. You are a Jedi Knight. Master Plo respects you and all those reports on the holonet called you the Hero without Fear."_

"_I do have fear, I just don't show it." Anakin gazed at her sadly. "My dream is to be part of the Jedi Council."_

"_I'm sure you will be. You just have to be patient."_

"_They are jealous of my power. I know that I can be better, if they let me." Anakin said as he clenched his hand._

"_Hey, Skyguy, no one is jealous of your power. But there's more to being a Jedi than power." Ahsoka looked at him worried._

"_I know." He said without really meaning it. _

"_I'm serious. Anyway, what's your greatest fear?" Ahsoka said as she tried to steer the conversation into something lighter. _

"_Losing the ones I care about."_

"_I see." Ahsoka smiled at him. "Well, I'm going to go and do some recording and find some humiliating stories about you. Bye."_

"_Okay, bye, Sni- HEY!" Anakin ran after her and Ahsoka spoke up. _

"_Forgot something, Master?"_

_Anakin's eyes widened. "My lightsaber!"_

Luke paused the holovid and took a deep breath. "Wow. I heard rumors about a human pod racer but I had no idea it was my father."

"He… he wasn't what I expected." Leia confessed. "He looked so normal."

"I can't believe that he was a slave." Han said as he started to feel pity for the man who was going to be Vader. He remembered the time when he was forced to work as a young boy and he hated it. He wondered, how much he had in common with this Dark Lord.

"Want to keep on watching?" Luke asked the others.

"Let's. Maybe, we can find out more about this Ahsoka." Leia said.

"_And here we are to the man who is responsible for making Master Skywalker the Jedi he is today, Master Obi-Wan Kenobi." Ashoka said as she gestured to a younger Obi-Wan Kenobi. Unlike the sagely old man the three had met so long ago, this one was younger, more like a soldier, and yet has mere traces of wear in his eyes._

"_Hello, Ahsoka. I must admit, I had merely written a report not a holovid."_

"_Yeah, well, I thought this would make things more interesting." Ahsoka said as she grinned at him. "So, tell me about what you think of Master Skywalker."_

"_He is a very powerful man. Every day, he is growing stronger every day. I saw him grew up under extreme circumstances and he had matured very well, especially during the war. Everyone is changing from the war." He sighed as he closed his eyes. _

"_Yeah. What was he like when he was a kid?"_

"_He is a very stubborn boy. He loved to take risks and enjoy racing."_

"_Is that different?" Ashoka raised an eyebrow._

_Obi-Wan Kenobi pondered. "Well… he had grown taller." He said with a laugh._

"_I am more careful." Anakin said as he walked in. "I heard everything."_

"_I know. Don't be so sensitive. You had matured over the years. Hopefully, your Padawan taught you about patience."_

"_I am patient."_

"_You mean like that time we fought with Dooku and you just charged in there?" Obi-Wan retorted._

"_I didn't know he was going to be that strong."_

"_And that time when you tampered with the coordinates just so you could reach Coruscant a few hours earlier and nearly crashed into the planet?"_

"_I was careful!"_

"_And what about that attempt to capture Dooku at Floorum?"_

_Anakin glared at his master. Ahsoka joined in. "Yeah, if it weren't for me, you two would have been dead."_

"_We had everything under control." Anakin argued._

"_Sure, sure, the poison gas, the cave in, that huge Gundark, all under control." Ahsoka nodded with her arms crossed in mock seriousness._

_The Jedi Knight sighed as he rubbed his eyes. "Fine, fine, you saved us then. But I had complete control after that."_

"_We were tricked by pirates!" Obi Wan exclaimed. "And we had to be saved by Jar Jar Binks!"_

"_Jar Jar Binks?" Ahsoka repeated. "You mean that klutzy representative from Naboo? The one who causes ships to crash wherever he goes?"_

"_The same." Obi Wan sighed. "I swear, if I didn't know any better, I could have sworn he had an alliance with some God to remain alive as he was. He really should be careful."_

"_Yes, Master." Anakin rolled his eyes. _

"_And that is how they really talk with each other." Ahsoka said to the camera. _

"_Snips, please, this is ridiculous. Why are you making fun of me on the holovid?" Anakin chided his apprentice._

"_It makes you human. I mean, I know there are records of you being the 'Hero With No Fear but… I want future Jedi to see you as a man. I thought it might be appropriate."_

"_You will show me in a good light right?"_

"_Of course, Master."_

"_Good."_

"_Now, before I was interrupted. I see that Anakin has potential to get an extraordinary Jedi." _

"_I am already extraordinary. I know all I need to know." Anakin argued._

"_Everyone learns something new. Even Master Yoda does not know everything there is to know about the Force."_

"_I know. There are all sorts of things I want to know about my power. Like the Dark Side. There is great power in the Dark Side. Is it wrong to want to test the Dark Side?"_

_Ahsoka and Obi-wan's jaws dropped as they looked at him. "M-Master?!" Ahsoka exclaimed._

"_Kidding! Don't worry about me." Anakin grinned at them. There was something about that smile that looked tense. The others just stared at him. _

"_Please don't joke about that, Anakin. I swear, you will be the death of me." Obi-Wan Kenobi sighed._

"_Don't worry, I will never hurt you." Anakin said as he gave another one of his smiles._

Luke sighed as he paused the holovid recording. "They were so… close."

"I'm sorry." Leia whispered.

"That's all right." Luke could not believe what he was seeing. It felt so surreal to see his own father being normal, like he was before he had fallen to the dark side. "Let's see what happens next."

To Be Continued…


	2. The Senator and the Droids

My Father's Padawan

Part Two

By Marie Nomad

"_And now, we will talk to our favorite clone commander, Commander Rex." Ahsoka said as she sat next to a clone commander. _

"_You are doing a holovid about General Skywalker?"_

"_Yup. Well, about the Clone Wars. So, feel free to tell me what you think."_

_Rex pondered. "Well, he's an excellent pilot; a good fighter; and I would follow him to Hell."_

"_But…"_

"_He's attached to that droid of his. He would die for that droid." His voice carried just a hint of disapproval. _

"_He's not that bad." Ahsoka excused and then she looked at the camera. _

"_I know. He would do the same for me." _

_Ahsoka sighed. "I was wondering. What are you going to do after the Clone Wars?"_

_Rex shrugged. "I don't know. I was trained to serve for the Republic. I might be assigned patrol. We may spend years making sure the Separatists are taken care of. It takes years to truly create peace."_

"_But, don't you ever think about retiring? You know, stop fighting."_

"_I'm like the Jedi. I will keep serving the army until I die. That is my duty." He didn't sound disappointed about his fate. He stated it as fact._

_Ahsoka looked down. "I'm so sorry."_

"_You shouldn't worry about me, kid." Rex gazed at her. "I like serving with you."_

_Ahsoka looked back at him almost speechless. "Thanks."_

Leia frowned. "I thought that the clones were like droids only flesh and blood."

"Me too." Han said, "When I was with the Academy, they told us that the clones were mostly mindless."

Chewbaca growled at Han. He went into a series of grunts and purrs that had to be translated.

"Really? They are individuals?" Han stared at him. He translated for the others. "Chewy had fought the clones during the early days of the Empire. They are not mindless."

"Wow." Luke admired.

_Ahsoka sat down. "Now, there are three more friends of ours who are taking part in the war but are very close to Master Skywalker. We are sitting in the Garden of a Thousand Fountains for a bit of a change of pace. She pointed the camera to a vast garden where many Jedi were seen meditating. "Pretty, isn't it?" The young teenager sighed as she looked at the camera. "Now, first these guys have been close to Master Skywalker and are helping fight for the Republic both on the field and in the political arena. I bring you, C-3P0 and R2-D2!"_

"_Hello, I am C-3P0. Thank you for interviewing us, Miss Tano." The droid said. _

"_You knew Master Skywalker longer than anyone else here."_

"_Oh yes, in fact, I knew him back when he created me. He was my maker after all."_

Luke, Han, Leia, and Chewbaca stared at the protocol droid. "Darth Vader is my maker?" C-3P0 gasped.

R2-D2 beeped.

"What do you mean you knew?" C-3P0 exclaimed as he stared at his friend.

The other doid beeped smugly.

"Why didn't you tell me?!"

There was a series of toots that sounded like it was sarcastic.

"I don't care if it's none of my business! I have a right to know who created me!"

"I cannot believe that Threepio was created by Dad." Luke gasped as he started to chuckle.

"I cannot believe that my family, Organa, had them all this time." Leia admitted equally shocked. She had a felt a sense of kinship with the protocol droid. She didn't know that C-3P0 was in a sense, her brother.

"I knew it. Only someone so evil can create something so annoying." Han said as most of his sympathy for Anakin evaporated with this revelation.

"Master Luke, may we watch the rest of this clip? I am curious to find out more about my origins?" C-3P0 asked.

"Yeah."

"_So, tell me about your very first days being active."_

"_Well, I recalled waking up seeing Master Ani's face. He was so happy to see me activated. He used his own money to bring back parts for me and I was eventually completed."_

_R2-D2 beeped out and a translation appeared at the bottom. "You were naked."_

"_Yes, I was naked but that's not the point!"_

_Ahsoka asked the same question that was going through the viewers minds. "What did a Tatooine slave need with a protocol droid?"_

"_He used me to be his friend and to be his mother's servant. Miss Shmi worked very hard. They had a very close bond."_

"_I bet." Ahsoka looked down sadly. _

"_Oh, my apologies, I am so sorry. I forgot that Jedi are not allowed to be with their parents."_

"_That's okay. The Order is my family." Ahsoka shrugged. She paused and looked around. "Wait a second… where is the Senator?"_

"_Up there with Master Ani." C-3PO gestured to a nearby tree._

"_Master!" Ahsoka marched to the tree and glared at it. "Master! Get down right now!"_

_Anakin's head popped out of the tree leaves. "Yes?"_

"_What are you doing up there?" Ahsoka demanded as she struggled not to laugh._

"_I was hanging around."_

"_Hello, Ahsoka." Padme said as she appeared next to Anakin. _

"_You two, down here, now!" Ahsoka demanded. She looked at the camera. "Sometimes, I wonder who is more mature, the student or the master?"_

"_I heard that!" Anakin jumped down and Padme followed. She was caught by her 'friend'. _

"Artoo! Stop the film!" Leia ordered. The footage pause, freezing on the holographic image of Padme Amidala's laughing face.

"What is it?" Luke asked.

"Th-that's our mother!" Leia said as she stared at the holographic image of Padme.

"She is?" Luke looked at the woman. She and Leia had the same dark eyes and the same dark hair. Even their faces have the same shape. "She's beautiful."

"She seemed happier than I remembered." Leia confessed. "Artoo, keep playing."

"_So, what were you two doing up in that tree?" Ahsoka said as she smirked at the two._

"_We were just looking at the trees." Padme said calmly. "There are not very many trees here in Coruscant."_

"_We have very nice trees here." Anakin supported as he blushed slightly._

"_Okay…" Ahsoka rolled her eyes. _

"_I'm serious!" Anakin said. _

"_I know. You and Master Kenobi did the same thing."_

_Padme started to giggle again as Anakin paled. _

"_NO!!! Absolutely not! NO! NO!" Anakin screamed disrupting all of the other meditating Jedi. _

"_Master… a Jedi must remain calm at all times." Ahsoka said in her best Obi Wan impression._

"_I am calm!" He yelled. He turned towards the camera. "I swear, it was just stealth training!" _

"_Oh, Ani!" Padme sighed. "She was kidding."_

"_Oh." Anakin calmed down and then glared at Ahsoka. "Stop that."_

"_Yes, Master." Ahsoka bowed her head and then, with a wicked look in her eyes, she asked Padme. "How did you meet?"_

"_Well, it was when we had to land on Tatooine. I went along with Qui Gon and Jar Jar to get parts to fix the hyperdrive for the ship. We went to the only place that has the hyperdrive part that we need. While I was at Watto's, I met a cute little boy named Ani. Well, maybe it would be better if Artoo show you."_

_Ahsoka pointed the camera closer and R2-D2 showed a hologram of a little boy and a younger version of Padme. _

_The boy asked, "Are you an angel?"_

"_What?" Padme repeated stunned._

"_An angel. I heard the deep space pilots talk about them. They are the most beautiful creatures in the universe. They live on the moons of Igor. I think."_

_Padme smiled at Anakin. "You are a funny little boy."_

_The image went back to the garden where Ahsoka was fighting very hard not to laugh. "You hit on a queen?!" Ahsoka exclaimed as she laughed._

"_I was nine! I didn't know she was a queen at the time! Padme was… well…" Anakin blushed brightly._

"_And what is with that lame 'Are you an Angel' line?"_

"_It was a an innocent question."_

"_Attachments are forbidden." Ahsoka slapped him on the arm._

"_THERE'S NOTHING GOING ON!" Her master yelled at her and Ahsoka shrank._

"_Anakin… please, calm down." Padme glanced at the gathering Jedi who were watching._

"_Oh." Anakin saw Ahsoka looking at him nervously. "I'm sorry."_

"_That's all right." The girl sighed in relief. "He's always like this. Anyway, I heard that there's a story behind the droids. How did Senator Amidala get Threepeo and Master Skywalker get Artooy?"_

"_Well, when my mother died, Craig Lars, my stepfather, gave me Threepeo. However, I didn't need a protocol droid. So, I gave him to Padme."_

"_And I felt honored but giving a droid as a gift might be considered a bribe to others and to maintain honor, I gave Anakin R2-D2." Padme finished._

"_Awww… that's so sweet." Ahsoka whispered as she wiped a tear. "Anyway, Senator, when do you think the war will be over?"_

"_I don't know. I am doing everything I can to make sure there is peace. The Supreme Chancellor and the rest of the Senate will do everything they can to make sure the Jedi does not have to fight our war for us." Padme promised._

"_The Chancellor will make it happen. I believe in him." Anakin said firmly as he clutched his fist._

"_Yeah."_

_The holovid shifted to Ahsoka being alone. "Well, that's the end of my report for now. I would have added more but we have a mission to do. I'll try to add on after this. May the force be with you!" Ahsoka smiled as she waved and the holovid turned off._

Luke sighed as he stared at the empty space. "Wow, this is really… incredible. Ahsoka's really cute."

"She reminded me of me when I was her age." Leia looked down.

Han frowned. That girl looked somewhat familiar but he didn't know where.

R2-D2 beeped. C-3P0 translated, "Master Luke, Artoo said that there is another addition."

To Be Continued…


	3. A Rising Knight, a Falling Friendship

My Father's Padawan

Part Three

By Marie Nomad

"Quick, play it." Luke's heart jumped. Maybe this next addition will add on what happened to the young Padawan.

_Ahsoka appeared on the screen. Her headtails were longer and she had obviously grown. Instead of the brown tube top that she was wearing before, she was wearing a brown vest. "Hi, I had found this recording and thought I should add on. I don't know why, I just feel… like I had to. Anyway, it has been a year since I first made this recording. A lot has changed. I had changed as you can tell." She gestured to herself. _

"_Anyway, I have some important news. I am a knight!" She grinned as she laughed. "I can't believe it myself. But it's true!" She took a deep breath and clamed down. _

"_I must calm down." The girl sighed. "I am a Jedi Knight. I have to act as such."_

"_Ahsoka, can you come here?" Rex asked off screen._

"_Just a second. Let's see what Rex is up to." Ahsoka said as she picked up the camera and carried it into a darkened room. _

_All of a sudden, the room lit up._

"_SURPRISE!" _

_Ahsoka's eyes widened as she looked at a huge group of clones and Jedi gathered around her. On the wall was the banner 'Congratulations Ahsoka'. "Wow… how did you surprise me?"_

"_Just a little cloaking on the force." Obi Wan said as he came up and hugged her. _

"_And a lot of planning." Rex admitted as he came up with a cake._

"_Did Skyguy set this up?" Ahsoka looked around eagerly._

_Obi Wan answered as he pointed to the clone. "No. Rex did."_

"_Rex?!" _

"_It's for morale reasons." Rex said as he looked away._

"_Thanks. You're the best." Ahsoka gushed as she patted his arm._

"_It's nothing. Really."_

"_Here have some cake." Padme offered the Torgrunta. _

"_Thank you!" Ahsoka began eating. "I'm surprised that you are here, Senator."_

"_You are my friend. And I know how big it is for you to become a Jedi Knight at your age."_

"_Oh please, you were a queen when you were younger than me."_

"_I know but it is still an impressive accomplishment for a young one like yourself. You should be proud."_

_Ahsoka looked down. "Jedi are not supposed to be proud."_

"_What feeling fulfilled?" Padme asked. _

_The Torgrunta pondered. "Fulfilled works. Thank you, Padme."_

"_You're welcome. How is Anakin handling his little Padawan becoming a Knight?"_

"_I don't know." Ahsoka looked around. "I barely saw him since the ceremony. I wonder why he's staying away from me?"_

_Padme frowned. She gave the type of frown that would scare any soldier. "I don't know."_

"_I hope he's okay with this. He can be a little overprotective." _

"_That's one of his charms." The senator sighed as she smiled slightly._

_Ahsoka arched an eyebrow. "Are you pining for my master?"_

"_NO!" Padme shook her head. Her face stilled into a classic political poker face. "I… I think I shall get a drink." She walked off._

_Ahsoka chuckled and looked at the camera. "Don't worry, she has a stable head. She won't do anything crazy like get knocked up or anything like that."_

Han looked over at Leia and Luke. "I doubt it."

"Shh!" Leia ordered.

_The Torgrunta teenager sat down to eat more cake. "Hello, Soka." A Kel Dor Jedi said as he walked up and sat beside her. _

"_Master Plo. This is Master Plo, the Jedi who brought me to the Council." Ahsoka introduced._

"_I see you are recording this event."_

"_Yeah, who knows, I might look back and see how much I've changed." Ahsoka shrugged._

"_Well, I wish to say that I am very proud of you. Every time I see a youngling that I found rise to the Knight Rank and beyond, I feel I had contributed to the Force."_

"_Thank you, Master. I will not let you down. I hope I'm ready. I'm a little nervous. I'm only sixteen."_

"_Do not worry. Every new knight feels some hesitation but relax. You are ready."_

"_Thank you."_

_The holovid played on showing Ahsoka talking with various Jedi and clones. "Everyone has been great! But where's Skyguy?" The girl asked as she looked around. "Let's try to find him." She closed her eyes in a meditative stance. "Got him!"_

_Ahsoka grabbed the camera and walked down the hallways. Then, she heard Padme's voice._

"_Anakin, you are being ridiculous."_

"_I am not. What kind of Jedi throws a party for being a knight?"_

"_It was a surprise party from Rex. I think it was sweet of him."_

"_It's foolish. The only reason that I'm here is because you decided to come here."_

"_Ahsoka's your student. You should be proud of her."_

"_And Ahsoka's knighthood was a sham. The only reason that she's even a Knight is that the Council is desperate for Jedi."_

_Ahsoka's face paled slightly and she whispered. "Master."_

_The door opened to reveal Anakin and Padme standing there. Anakin seemed darker somehow, a little more gaunt, to show the wear of the war on his soul. "Snips… I didn't… I didn't know that you were…" _

"_HOW COULD YOU?!" Ahsoka screamed and the camera went out._

_The camera came back on to reveal Ahsoka alone crying. "I… I can't… why? I thought he would be proud of… me. I'm his student. He's… oh god…" She sobbed. _

"_Ahsoka?" A tall black human appeared. "What is wrong?"_

"_Master Windu." Ahsoka stood up and wiped her tears. "Nothing! Really."_

"_Master Tano, tell me the truth." Mace Windu softly ordered._

_The girl looked down. "Is my knighthood a sham?"_

"_What?!"_

"_I understand that we had lost many Jedi in this war and that I am willing to fight until I am done but is the Council just that desperate for new Knights?"_

_The master sighed. "What made you believe that you are unworthy of becoming a knight?"_

_Ahsoka just looked down. _

"_You had grown over the past few years. You had survived battles with Grevious, Ventress, and even Bane. Yes, this war had made us get more knights but we are still very careful in our process and that it had forced everyone to grow up faster. Including me. You deserve to be a knight. Who told you this?"_

"_I… I accidentally overheard him telling the Senator. It's okay. Really. I should not have been snooping anyway. It's not his fault."_

"_Who is it?"_

_Ahsoka bowed her head down ashamed. "Master Skywalker." She whispered._

"_This is most unbecoming of a master to ridicule his student's success." Windu's eyes darkened. "I thought he had matured."_

"_It's okay! Really! Don't punish him!" Ahsoka pleaded for her master. Windu stared at Ahsoka and the girl backed away. The Master walked away and Ahsoka sighed. _

"_I hope Master Windu will go easy on Anakin." Ahsoka confessed to the camera. "I can't believe that I told him. Master Windu's a good guy but he can be a little scary. I don't know of any younglings who are not a little nervous around him." She looked down again. _

"_Ahsoka!" Anakin called out as he walked in. "Snips, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were there."_

"_It's okay. Really." The Torgunta smiled at him. The smile looked strained at best. _

"_No, it's not. I am your master and I should have been proud that you had become a Knight. I had become a knight only a couple of years ago. I just don't like the idea of being surpassed. When I became a Knight, I found myself thinking of Obi Wan as my brother. I should think of you now as my sister."_

"_Thanks." _

_The scene changed again to show Ahsoka in her bedroom. "It had been a week and it hasn't really been the same. It feels like he doesn't really believe in me. I'm going to be assigned on a separate mission away from Anakin and Obi Wan. I better hope that the Force will let Anakin and I make up."_

R2-D2 let out a sad beep.

"That's the last of it, isn't it?" Luke sighed. The new addition didn't tell him much about what happened to the girl. Ahsoka was a knight but she and Anakin had a falling out.

"Luke, I'm sorry." Leia said as she hugged him. The chances didn't look good for Ahsoka. There were reports of Jedi surviving after Order 66 but they were killed by Darth Vader or some bounty hunters hired by the Empire.

"Thanks." Luke hugged back.

Chewbaca and Han whispered to each other.

"So, you think so too? Huh huh. Yeah." Han looked over at Luke and said, "I think that Ahsoka survived the Great Purge. I got something to show you."

To Be Continued…


	4. Old Meets New

My Father's Padawan

Part Four

By Marie Nomad

Onboard the Millenium Falcon, Han and Chewbacca worked on the computers as Luke and Leia waited anxiously. There was only a slim chance that Han just happened to meet Ahsoka but the chances of two people meeting in a huge galaxy was slim to none. Yet, the Force had been kind so far in showing Luke glimmers of his father's past.

"Got it!" Han said as he held up a recording. "I was recording this because one of the guys looked pretty suspicious. So, I had this as insurance. I never bothered to erase it. Not sure why."

"Maybe it was the Force?"

Han stared at him suspiciously. "Look, I admit that the Force can be a powerful thing but do you really believe that somehow a lost little Togruta who got on my ship who just happened to be your father's apprentice and that I would just happened to have a recording of her because the Force 'willed it'?"

"Yes."

"All right, let's see if this is the same girl." Han loaded up the recording and played it.

_Cargo area of the Falcon was revealed to show several people. One of them was a tiny alien about six inches tall with orange skin and several claws. There was a familiar looking man dressed up in leather. There was a bald woman dressed in black with several tattoos on her head. Finally, sitting in a chair was Ahsoka. Unlike the other recordings, Ahsoka looked broken. Her eyes looked dull. One of her montreals were cut off to make her head look uneven. Those montreals had gone from white with stripes to pure gray with no stripes._

"_Welcome to the Millenium Falcon. This will only take a few days so make yourself comfortable." A younger looking Han Solo said to the group. "I am keeping a recording of you because of your little Hyjaker."_

_The Hyjaker huffed. "Don't worry, you don't have anything I'm interested in. I prefer droids."_

_The bald woman covered Ahsoka's head with a hood. "Fine."_

"_What's wrong with your friend? Shouldn't Togrutas be a little more… active?"_

_The bald woman glared at Han and whispered. "Darth Vader."_

"_Whoa! Say no more!" Han held his hands up. "I don't care where you've been as long as you pay me. So, let's get going."_

Leia turned off the recording. "Where were they going?"

Han read the records. The former smuggler sighed and replied, "Tattooine."

"Maybe they were meeting Obi-Wan?"

"Maybe. But Tattooine's a popular place for wanders to go to."

"Wait a second." Luke turned on the recording and looked at the man. "That's the black market peddler I bought the recording from! And that akul necklace, that was Ahsoka's. He knew her!" He gazed upward with a resolved face.

XXX

Luke, Han, and Leia marched through black market and found the mysterious old man. "Hello, welcome back." He said as he glanced at them. "Tell me, are you here for more Jedi stuff?"

"Where is she, Rex?" Luke asked.

The clone sighed. "Straight to the point. Very much like your father. Come on." He packed up his belongings. "By the way, my name is Cain now."

"So… Cain, how is she?" Leia asked as they followed him through the alleyways.

"It's best if you see it for yourself."

They finally reached a spaceship with a bunch of alien kids running around. "You adopted kids?" Leia was surprised as she waved at them.

"A few strays from various places. Most of them were former slaves that we helped set free."

"Any of them possible Jedi?" Luke asked as he tried to sense them in the Force.

"I don't know. We decided to just try to help who we can." Cain explained. Luke sensed a strong presence in the Force. He saw the tall bald woman walking to them. The Rattatakian had a pair of blasters on her sides.

"Hello." She said as she put her hands on her blasters.

"Are you a Jedi?" Luke asked. The aura around the woman was strong.

The woman laughed at him. "Why does everyone think that I am a Jedi? I am neither Jedi nor Sith. Call me Asajj Ventress. Obi Wan told me about you two."

"You knew Ben?" Luke asked.

"Oh, I know him." She smirked slyly.

"Okay…" Luke blushed. "So, do you know my father?"

"I tried to kill him. He tried to kill me; both as Anakin Skywalker and as Darth Vader. He didn't like me."

"I don't get it."

Asajj glared at him. "I worked for the Sith. I thought of myself as a Sith but I was just a tool for them. When, I realized this, I left. I ran into this little band after Ahsoka accidentally rescued me from a couple of dumb bounty hunters who thought I was a Jedi."

Luke and Leia looked at each other. "How can someone accidentally rescue you?" Leia asked.

"I don't know. I owe the youngling. Don't hurt her." She growled.

Luke held up his hands. "I won't."

Asajj leaned close to Luke's face. "You are… different from your father. Not as much darkness. I will watch this little meeting at a distance." She walked away.

"She… she's intense." Luke struggled to calm down. He didn't know whether she was threatening him or flirting with him.

"Come on. Let's go." Cain gestured to the walkway. They walked into the spaceship to see Ahsoka mending some clothes. She glanced up at the group. "She hasn't talked since she found out who Darth Vader was."

"What did he do to her?" Leia quietly asked Cain as she remembered how Darth Vader tortured her only a few years ago.

"A lot. That is all I can say."

"Hi." Luke took a deep breath as he studied the Jedi. She was dressed in a long robe with only her hands and her eyes showing.

"My name is Luke…" Luke knelt down in front of her. "Luke Skywalker."

Ahsoka took off her hood. The years of exile and hiding had not been kind to her. Leia felt a little stunned to see the girl that she knew as a vibrant teenager looking like a tired old woman. Darth Vader must have been the cause.

Luke held out his left flesh hand and said, "It's an honor to meet you. I watched your holovid and… I know that you loved my father. I'm sorry about what he did to you and to the other Jedi. I don't know if this will make things feel better but before he died, Darth Vader became Anakin Skywalker again. He came back to the light. Darth Vader is gone."

Ahsoka took his hand and smiled slightly. "Thank you." She whispered. The Togruta coughed as she grabbed some water and drank.

"You talked!" Cain gasped as he hugged Ahsoka.

"I know, Rex." Ahsoka hugged back. "Thank you, Luke, Leia… Han right?" Ahsoka asked Han Solo.

"Yeah. Glad you remembered me." Han said feeling a little embarrassed.

"Thank you for helping me back then. I… I wasn't able to thank you."

"Don't think about it. I was just doing my job."

"Ahsoka, I have a favor to ask of you. I am going to restore the Jedi… and I need help." Luke asked the Jedi.

The woman shook her head. "No. My Order had been gone for a long time. It had failed for a reason. If I help you, then I will just make it weaker. The New Order must be done with a fresh mindset. I was raised by the Old Order ever since I was a child. I would only fail you."

"But… I can't do it alone. I don't know what to do."

"The Force will guide you. And you have your sister and your friends. As long as you can touch the Force, you are never alone."

"I will try."

"Not try, do."

"Yeah. What are you going to do now?"

"Help out the future. These children are my way of helping the Force. There's also Rex." Ahsoka looked at her friend. "I want to be with him in his final years. He killed his fellow clones, his brothers, to protect me. Besides, he's my friend."

"I understand." Luke looked down and accepted the explanation. He felt a little less alone with Ahsoka, even if she won't help him with the Order.

Ahsoka put her hand on Luke's cheek. "You are such a sweet boy, very humble too. Anakin would have used some of that humility."

Luke blushed as he tried to figure out what to say. "Errr… well…"

"How cute." Ahsoka looked at Leia. "You look very much like your Mother but why are you upset?"

"I'm not… I don't know. I'm just confused. I had never thought of Darth Vader as a… man. Even after I knew that he was my father by blood."

Ahsoka took a deep breath. "I know your pain but the longer you have that anger in your heart, the longer it will hurt you. Anakin Skywalker was a good man. Do not be ashamed to be his daughter."

"I don't think I can. Even after seeing what Anakin was like during the Clone Wars… I can't forget what he did to me, to Alderann." Leia felt a little uneasy. She was opening up her soul to a stranger that she knew only through a recording but in many ways, she was family.

"I'm not asking you to forget, only forgive. I can't help Luke with restoring the Order but I can help you with your heart."

"Thank you."

After several hours of talking, Luke, Leia and Han went back to their place and Ahsoka stood under the sky. Suddenly, the Force shifted. Ahsoka focused and saw the ghost form of her old master sitting on a bench looking depressed. He was looking away, ashamed of what happened in the past. Not even he could alter history to make things better. He was dressed in Jedi robes and he looked like he was in his prime. She sat down beside him and stated. "I… I hated what Darth Vader did to me."

Anakin bowed his head even deeper.

"But… I still love Anakin Skywalker."

Anakin smiled at her. "Thanks, Snips. You were a good Jedi."

"I know." She sighed as she looked up at the vast sea of stars.

The End…


End file.
